Matilda's Mystery
by Astra
Summary: Matilda has been accepted to hogwarts, and her uncle is a teacher there. Who is he?
1. Default Chapter Title

"The Letter"

Matilda was just coming downstairs one morning in late July, when she saw a large, tawny owl rapping at the front window, trying to get in.She walked over sleepily, stretched and yawned before opening the window.The owl dropped a letter at her feet and swooped away out the opened window.

When she picked up the letter she knew immediately what it was.The letter was addressed to her, in emerald green ink.Matilda was so excited.She had always wanted to go to Hogwarts.She ran into the Kitchen, where the smell of sizzling bacon filled the room.Her mother was making breakfast.

"Good morning" said her mother cheerily.

"Hey," said Matilda, not really paying much attention, but very intent on opening that letter and making sure that it really was what she hoped with all her heart it was.

When Matilda had opened the letter and seen its contents she smiled and handed It to her mother, who looked as if she were about to faint."Go get your father up.Tell him it's time for breakfast."

"Alright" Matilda answered, still smiling.She went upstairs to her parents' room, where her father was still asleep snoring."Dad, get up. Its time for breakfast, and I've got something to show you, you won't believe!" Matilda added extra enthusiasm to the last part, hoping it would compel her father to get up.He wasn't much of a morning person.

Matilda knew that going to Hogwarts would make her parents very proud.She knew it was the best Wizarding School in the world, but she didn't understand why her parents had always made it seem like some un-reachable goal, that she should strive for, but never expect. 

Her father got up, less reluctantly than usual because he wanted to hear her news.Matilda ran downstairs ahead of him, took the letter back from her mum, and stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting; ready to present it to him.

A few moments later her father came down the stairs, and she handed him the letter.At first he wondered why she was making such a big fuss out of a piece of mail arriving, but soon he realized the reason."Matilda!I can't believe this!I'm so proud of you!" you could see his pride from the smile on his face."Go into the kitchen and start breakfast.I need to talk to your mother about when we can bring you up to London to get your things"

She followed his directions, but reluctantly.Why couldn't she be there when they were only deciding when to bring her to get her school supplies?She decided to listen at the keyhole in the kitchen door incase they talked about anything interesting.

"Won't your brother be surprised when he sees his niece in his class?"Matilda heard her mother say.

"He always thought that he was superior, ever since he got accepted to Hogwarts and I didn't.Well, this will show him.Mattie's bright enough.Just watch, she'll ace his class."

"You two are so competitive, honestly, Drake.You shouldn't put that burden on your daughter."This must have been a controversial topic, because he quickly changed the subject

"Do you think tomorrow is a good day to go up to London?" Drake said

"Sure.They have some things in the Diagon Alley apothecary that they just don't have around here.I could stock up while we're there"

Matilda decided that she had listened long enough.She opened the kitchen door and entered the room where her parents had been speaking."So…did you make up your minds yet?" she said as nonchalantly as possible.She didn't think they could tell she had been listening.It was just good timing, that's all.Pure coincidence.

"Yes, Hun.We're going tomorrow." Her father said.

"They gave us a list of everything you will need.I Think we can get everything in Daigon Alley" Her mum added

Mattie looked a bit worried now."We don't have to go by floo powder do we? Fireplace travel always makes me a bit queasy"

"It won't be that bad Mattie, Daigon alley's not that far, and it's the only stop we have to make"

… … …

Once this conversation had ended, the family went into the kitchen to eat the bacon that had somehow been forgotten in all the excitement.It was a bit burned, but not all bad.Mattie was overwhelmed with joy.She wouldn't let floo powder, a confusing conversation, and some "Cajun" bacon spoil this day.It was a day to celebrate because she had just been accepted to the bet school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world.


	2. Default Chapter Title

"Daigon Alley"

Matilda didn't sleep much that night.She was so excited and nervous about tomorrow at the same time.She couldn't wait to get all her books, her robes, and especially her wand.That would be the best part, Matilda thought.You couldn't be a proper witch without a wand.

But even under all this happiness she was a little nervous.Mattie never had liked fireplace travel.What if she came out at the wrong fireplace?What would she do then?How would she find her parents?

But Mattie tried to put all of this out of her mind, so she could get some sleep.As her mum had said at dinner that night, "We all need to get to bed early and sleep well, so we have lots of energy for our big day tomorrow!"Mattie could tell that had been directed at her.A trip to Daigon alley wasn't _that _special to her parents.They had been there before, and it wasn't them, who were buying all their supplies for School.

… … …

It seemed like she had just fallen asleep when Mattie's mother came in to wake her up the next morning.She was a bit tired, but to excited to let that slow her down.She quickly got dressed and came downstairs to find Her parents in the kitchen, and breakfast on the table.

Everyone ate hurriedly, and barely talked at all.Except for the occasional "I'm so excited!" or "Don't worry, you'll end up at the right place."The latter remark was usually in response to a look of nervousness on Mattie's part, followed by a glance in the direction of the fireplace.

When it came time to go her dad went first.Then it was Mattie's turn.She had never gotten lost before, but coming out the wrong fireplace was her worst fear.She took a pinch of the powder, stepped up to the fire threw in the dust.She got in and said, as clearly as possible, with all this ash and soot, "Daigon Alley!"She felt as if she were being pulled quickly down a drain.Everything was spinning.She thought she was about to vomit, when she saw her father outside the next grate.Mattie fell onto the cold stone of the fireplace.She was a bit queasy and sore, but she had made it, and was glad that whole ordeal was over.

A few moments after she had gotten up and walked over to where her father was standing, Mattie's mother arrived."See? I told you, you would be just fine, now didn't I?"

"Yes Mum," Matilda admitted.

"Just be glad we brought our money with us" Her father said, "If we hadn't you would've been in for one wild cart ride in Gringotts"

Matilda was glad that they didn't have to deal with the Gringotts carts.Not that they really bothered her that much, but she did find the goblins slightly frightening, and she wanted to get started buying her school things right away.

The first place they went was Madam Malkin's where she was fitted for her school robes.After that they bought her a collapsible telescope, and a pewter cauldron.She also got a collection of basic potion's supplies from the apothecary, while her mother bought some things of personal interest to her.After that it was about noon, so they stopped at a little sandwich shop for lunch.

After lunch they went to Flourish and Blotts to pick up all her books. The list Hogwarts had supplied said that she needed:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade one) By: Marinda Goshawk

A History of Magic By: Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory By: Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration By: Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi By: Phydilla Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions By: Arsenius Jigger.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them By: Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection By: Quentin Trimble

That seemed like an awful lot to Mattie, but they found and bought them all at Flourish and Blotts.Now all they needed was her wand.

Ollivander's was a little, dingy, old shop, but it was famous for its wands.It took about ten minutes to find the right wand for Matilda, when she emerged with an eight-and-a-half-inch willow, with one unicorn hair.She was very proud of it.So proud in fact, that she even brought it to bed with her that night. 

While she was sleeping she had happy dreams of her upcoming days at Hogwarts, and finally getting to meet the brother her father seemed to loathe so much.

Disclaimer: This disclaimer goes for part one too, because I forgot to put one in.All concepts in this story belong to J.K. Rowling, such as floo powder, Hogwarts, etc.

Claimer: Mattie and her parents belong to me.

AN: Can you guess who her uncle it? tell me your guesses in your reviews!!!


	3. Default Chapter Title

"The Hogwarts Express"

The next few weeks seemed to crawl by as Mattie awaited September first, when she would finally be off to Hogwarts.She was totally engrossed by all her new books, and it was all her mother could do to keep her from trying new spells on everything from the sofa to the garden gnomes.

When the first finally did roll around Mattie got up bright and early; she was too excited to wait any longer, and expected to be the first one up.It was a great surprise to see both her parents, already up, waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Why are you guys up?" she asked.

"We have a surprise for you" said her mother, as her father scuttled off to the closet.He emerged holding a large cage, which contained a little white owl.

"So you can send us tons of letters from school"

"You won't have any excuse with an owl of your own." 

"Thanks!" Mattie exclaimed with glee.She had never had a pet before.This was so exciting.What would she name him?She would have to think about this.

After half an hour of deep thought while packing up her things, she decided on the name Covington.It was the name of the town her Aunt lived in, but she liked the sound of it, so that was his name…Covington.

… … …

After she had everything packed, they headed out to the car.Even though they weren't muggles, they still had a muggle car for occasions such as this, with all this luggage and all.

The closer they got to Kings Cross Station, the more nervous Matilda became.She hadn't been nervous at all before.Just entirely excited.But now that the day had come, new fears, worries, and questions kept creeping into her mind, as hard as she tried to think good thoughts.Would she find any friends?What if she was worst in the class?Would her uncle like her? Were just a few of the many uncertainties she had realized she had.

The car slowed to a halt, and she realized they were there. Her parents un-loaded her trunk, and helped her get it on a cart.When they got to the platforms Mattie was confused

"There's platform nine, and there's platform ten.But where is platform nine and three quarters?What if it's gone missing? I'll never make it on the train."

"Platforms don't just get up and move," said her dad calmly "its right there" he said and walked up to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.He leaned on it casually and seemed to just fall through.It was very strange.

"You go next," said her mother."But since you're new at it, take it at a run."

This seemed very risky to Mattie, what if she just hit the barrier?Her mother seemed to sense her fear, because she said,

"Just don't be afraid, and you will be fine."

So Mattie did as she was told.As she was about to hit the barrier she closed her eyes, but the crash didn't come…she kept right on going.Right through the barrier.She turned around, expecting to see the barrier, but instead there was an archway, and above it a sign that read "platform nine and three quarters" she saw her mother come through after her, and then turned back around to see her father waving at them.

Mattie's parents helped her get her trunk into one of the empty compartments.She wished them goodbye, and sat down in the compartment, as the train pulled out of the station.She didn't mind being alone…it was only that she wasn't alone.

"hi" said a voice from the other side of the compartment."I'm Ginny Weasley," said the voice, which turned out to be a girl, with fiery red hair and freckles."Who are you?"

"Oh, I thought I was alone in here…I'm Matilda, but everybody calls me Mattie.Where are your things?"

"I was sitting with my brother Ron, and his friends, but they kicked me out.My stuff's in there" Ginny answered."Are you a first year?I don't think I've seen you before." 

"Yeah.My parents were really surprised when I got in.How about you?"

"Well, I'm a third year this year.I kind of expected to get in though, cause all my brothers did"

"Really? How many brothers do you have? I'm an only child." Mattie asked.

"Six.There's Bill and Charlie, they already graduated, and Percy graduated last year.Then there's Fred and George.They're twins, and sixth years this year.And Ron.He's only a year older than me.I told you about him before."

The two girls made conversation continually until about three quarters of the way through the ride, when the door of their compartment opened, and Mattie bought a few things off the cart."I was in such a rush this morning, I never had breakfast.Would you like a pumpkin pasty?"

"No thanks" Ginny replied.She told Matilda that she had brought sandwiches, but they were with Ron in his compartment, and she wanted to save room for the big feast anyway.

"Oh.That's when they do the sorting isn't it?" Mattie asked nervously.

"Yeah.I was really nervous when I got sorted, but it's not that bad. I'd tell you how they do it, but I think it's supposed to be a surprise."Ginny smiled.She remembered her sorting…everyone watching…expectations to live up to…but at least Mattie didn't have any siblings at Hogwarts.It wouldn't really matter what house she got into.

"What house are you in?" Mattie hoped she would be in Ginny's house.It would be nice to have someone to talk to that she already knew.

"I'm in Gryfindor, same as all my brothers.You never did tell me your surname.Maybe I'll recognize it."

But before Mattie had a chance to answer, the train had stopped, and it seemed as if someone was herding wild boars through the corridor. They both left the compartment, and were sucked into the stampede. Once outside Ginny yelled to Mattie "Bye! Hope to see you in Gryfindor!"

Just as Mattie was realizing that she had no idea where to go, a very large man came wading through the crowd yelling "firs' years this way!"


End file.
